The Knight's Lament
by Peach the Hedgehog
Summary: Accused of a crime he didn't commit, the town has turned their backs on him. They no longer see a brave hero that can perform miracles with his book. He tries to speak, but no one will listen. But worst of all... he wasn't able to protect her.


Disclaimer: I do not own anything in Avalon Code.

**AN: I was going to write a story with Yumil and Dorothea in it. This wasn't what I originally intended, but I still like how it came out. This oneshot contains spoilers.**

A brown haired boy stood on the stone floor of a cold, dark and dank dungeon. He got many a visitor, but he dreaded each and every one. The words they spoke were hate filled and hurtful. He no longer wanted to listen to them, especially since they wouldn't listen to him.

All that chaos that happened out there… that wasn't Yumil's fault! It all began when Rex came to congratulate him for winning the tournament. They were talking about how quickly Yumil had found himself a sweetheart, and about how he and Rex met all those years ago.

If only the young man knew what his 'best friend' had put in that drink he'd offered, he wouldn't have taken it. The Book of Prophecy did say on Rex's page that he could double-cross anyone. But never in his wildest dreams did he see it coming. After taking a sip of the usually very tasty liquid, he fell to the ground.

When he finally came to, he chased Rex all over the town trying to get his book back. As he ran, he heard Rex yelling something about his little sister, Meenya and about how he wanted her back.

"_What an idiot,"_ Yumil had thought as he was running out of breath._ "You can't bring the dead back to life!"_

He wasn't exactly sure what happened next. A general of the Waisen Empire named Heath hit him hard in the stomach, knocking the air out of him. The next time he looked up he noticed that Rex was slumped over on the ground. And what looked like a young boy opened the Book of Prophecy.

That was when it all went horribly wrong! A terrible chaos befell the land, causing the destruction of many homes and many lives to be lost. All of this was very painful to see. But to Yumil, there was something much, much worse.

Yumil looked ahead of him, his thoughts broken, when he heard that he had a visitor. He cringed back when he saw the 'Holy King' himself standing in front of him. His eyes were full of anger as he demanded to know what had happened to his daughter.

Yumil opened his mouth to speak, indicating that he knew what happened. But Xenobert didn't give him a chance to defend himself. As everyone in town seemed to be against him, the King seemed to be even more so. From being called a 'fiend' and having to listen to more of what the King had to say, it was easy to tell that he believed the young man was at fault for her disappearance. For all he knew Xenobert might be accusing her of her death!

The thought that he could have been her killer truly sliced Yumil's heart. How could they even think it? He knew how he felt for Dorothea. And he would never even think of hurting her in any way!

The young brown haired man had many memories of her. And he remembered all of them fondly. Even the day they met he considered as a good memory. Even if bad things happened at that time too.

The first time he met her, he was on his way to the castle. Soldiers passed him by looking for an imperial intruder, and not long after they passed, Princess Dorothea ran right into him. She yelled at Yumil for getting in the way, but after she found her cat, Guri Guri, she asked Yumil to help find the intruder.

The fire spirit Rempo didn't seem pleased at the idea, but wanted to shut the Princess up. Yumil agreed, sort of agreeing with Rempo at the time. But that was when disaster struck.

It turned out that the imperial intruder was actually a monster sent to take back the Book of Prophecy. Dorothea got in trouble, and the black cat ended up fatally wounded. Yumil quickly dispatched of the monster, using the sword techniques he learned from Gustav earlier that day.

Dorothea had tears in her eyes as she looked at her dying cat. Yumil felt pity for the Princess, and Rempo quickly suggested he use the Book of Prophecy to help create a miracle. In the end, Guri Guri was healed, but he was accused of sorcery. Add to that he was also accused of being with that mysterious desert witch, Nanaida Seer.

When he was brought to the castle and about to be imprisoned, Dorothea defended him, saying that the imperial spies were much uglier looking and monster-like. Though she said that the only reason she did it was because he saved Guri Guri, Yumil couldn't help but wonder if that was the truth or not.

After that, the memories were nicer. Using the Book of Prophecy, he knew just what to give her when it came to gifts. Honestly, Yumil was a bit shocked to discover that the royal Princess had an interest in broadswords, hammers and bombs even. But he wasn't surprised that she liked certain hats and sweets.

Along with the gift giving, Yumil found out how much she seemed to adore the Waisen Prince, and why she would worry so much whenever Guri Guri went missing. According to her, it was like losing Valdo all over again! In fact, for some reason, knowing that she was crazy about Valdo bothered Yumil, and he couldn't understand why.

Then, a couple days before the tournament, he noticed that she was getting nervous for some reason. She apologized about the way she was comparing him to Valdo. After she said that, she asked if he would be her knight.

_"Yes, I will be your knight,"_ he said with a smile on his face.

"_Y… you know… that as my knight… you have to protect me right?"_ she had questioned nervously.

"_I'm not kidding,"_ the young man answered, his smile firmly in place.

However, they were interrupted not long later by a maid who said she had classes to take. And for a couple of days, he wasn't sure what it was that the Princess wanted to say.

That was, until he got a note saying 'I will be waiting at the fountain.' Yumil wasn't sure who left it, but he did have one guess. After all, there was only one person he was spending a lot of time with. And that was the blonde haired, soft blue eyed Princess.

Dorothea seemed angry when he first arrived. She demanded why he kept her waiting. Then, to Yumil's surprise, Dorothea started to cry. Before he knew it, she wrapped her arms around him and said that she loved him. And while she would always adore Valdo, her heart was on Yumil.

That's when it hit Yumil like a ton of bricks. _"Oh… now I understand,"_ he thought to himself as he returned Dorothea's embrace. _"Now I know why I feel the way I do. I really, really like her!"_

Yumil slipped to his knees, trying to hold his tears back. He still cared deeply about the world, but the words around him were less than desirable. Didn't they know what he was feeling? They weren't the only ones who lost someone in the chaos!

"_Dorothea… I failed you… I'm not so much of a knight."_


End file.
